System, Method, and Computer-Readable Medium for Comparing Automatically Determined Crash Information to Historical Collision Data to Estimate Repair Costs

ABSTRACT

An example method for estimating vehicle repair costs includes receiving, via one or more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crash information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information including vehicle operating information of the damaged vehicle; analyzing the crash information with respective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or an acceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicle operating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data of the vehicle type; determining one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle based on the analyzed crash information; determining a cost estimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damaged vehicle parts; and transmitting an indication of the cost estimate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/720,790 entitled “SYSTEM, METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM FORCOMPARING AUTOMATICALLY DETERMINED CRASH INFORMATION TO HISTORICALCOLLISION DATA TO DETECT FRAUD,” filed on Sep. 29, 2017, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/732,331 entitled“SYSTEM, METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM FOR FACILITATING DELIVERYOF REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR A DAMAGED VEHICLE,” filed on Jun. 5, 2015,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/023,711 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED VEHICLE REPAIRTRIAGE,” filed on Jul. 11, 2014, the entire contents of which are herebyexpressly incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a system and a method fortreating a vehicle damaged in a crash, and more particularly, todetermining a repair cost estimate based on historical collision data.

BACKGROUND

Every year, vehicles are involved in collisions that result in varyingamounts of damage to the vehicle. If the damaged vehicle is insured, aninsurance claim is usually filed shortly after the collision. Thedamaged vehicle is typically brought to a location where an appraisal orassessment of the damage is made. Depending on the extent of the damageand the treatment facility where the damaged vehicle was brought, thedamaged vehicle may then need to be further transported to a differenttreatment facility that is capable of performing the necessary repairs,or in the case where the damage is too costly to repair, to a salvage ora scrap facility. Additional costs are incurred when the damaged vehicleis brought to a first location for the initial appraisal and then to asubsequent location for the repair or salvage. By determining the extentof damage to the vehicle and the corresponding treatment shortly after acollision, the time and costs involved to currently process an insuranceclaim may be reduced.

SUMMARY

A first example embodiment is a method, executed in part by one or moreprocessors programmed to perform the method, for estimating vehiclerepair costs. The method may include receiving, via one or more sensorscoupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crash information ofthe damaged vehicle, the crash information including vehicle operatinginformation of the damaged vehicle; analyzing the crash information withrespective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or is similarto the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzing includingcomparing at least one of a velocity or an acceleration included in thevehicle operating information to vehicle operating characteristicsindicated by the respective collision data of the vehicle type;determining one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehiclebased on the analyzed crash information; determining a cost estimate torepair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damaged vehicleparts; and transmitting an indication of the cost estimate.

Another example embodiment is a system for estimating vehicle repaircosts. The system comprises a computing device including one or moreprocessors, and one or more memory devices coupled to the one or moreprocessors of the computing device, the one or more memory devicesstoring executable instructions that when executed by the one or moreprocessors of the computing device cause the system to: receive, via oneor more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crashinformation of the damaged vehicle, the crash information includingvehicle operating information of the damaged vehicle; analyze the crashinformation with respective collision data of a vehicle type thatincludes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, theanalyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or anacceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicleoperating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data ofthe vehicle type; determine one or more damaged vehicle parts of thedamaged vehicle based on the analyzed crash information; determine acost estimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or moredamaged vehicle parts; and transmit an indication of the cost estimate.

A further example embodiment is a tangible, computer-readable mediumstoring instructions that when executed by one or more processors of acomputer system cause the computer system to: receive, via one or moresensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crashinformation of the damaged vehicle, the crash information includingvehicle operating information of the damaged vehicle; analyze the crashinformation with respective collision data of a vehicle type thatincludes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, theanalyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or anacceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicleoperating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data ofthe vehicle type; determine one or more damaged vehicle parts of thedamaged vehicle based on the analyzed crash information; determine acost estimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or moredamaged vehicle parts; and transmit an indication of the cost estimate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures described below depict various aspects of the systems andmethods disclosed herein. It should be understood that each figuredepicts an embodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed system andmethods, and that each of the figures is intended to accord with apossible embodiment thereof. Further, wherever possible, the followingdescription refers to the reference numerals included in the followingfigures, in which features depicted in multiple figures are designatedwith consistent reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a general overview of a vehicle treatment system for treatinga vehicle damaged in a crash;

FIG. 2 depicts an example vehicle treatment process capable of beingimplemented in the vehicle treatment system illustrated in FIG. 1 inaccordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 3 depicts an example table of vehicle treatment codes (e.g.,repair) for estimating the cost of repairing vehicle damage inaccordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 4 depicts an example damaged vehicle including vehicle treatmentcodes (e.g., repair) for various vehicle parts in accordance with thepresently described embodiments;

FIG. 5 depicts an example method for detecting a risk of insurance fraudbased on collision data in accordance with the presently describedembodiments;

FIG. 6 depicts an example injury data table in accordance with thepresently described embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting an example mobile computing device,an on-board computing device, a server device, and a communicationnetwork that may configured in the example system for treating a damagedvehicle in accordance with the described embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example mobile computing device capableof being implemented in the example system shown in FIG. 9; and

FIGS. 9-12 depict example embodiments of information displayed on theone or more user interfaces of the one or more computing devices inaccordance with the presently described embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A vehicle treatment system utilizes crash information of a vehicleinvolved in a crash to approximate the extent of damage to the vehicleand determine a treatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle. Theestimated vehicle damage is used to generate repair codes for repairingthe vehicle and estimate the total cost of repair. Moreover, theestimated vehicle damage is also used to detect a risk of insurancefraud by a policy holder or another person involved in the crash withthe vehicle, and also to calculate a treatment complexity level fortreating the vehicle. Based on a determined treatment complexity level,the system identifies a treatment facility capable of treating thedamaged vehicle and sends information for transporting the damagedvehicle to the treatment facility, thereby removing the need toinitially bring the damaged vehicle to an interim location for a damageassessment before transporting the damaged vehicle to a designatedtreatment facility for treatment.

More specifically, the vehicle treatment system receives crashinformation associated with a vehicle involved in a crash. The crashinformation may be transmitted within a data transmission, which mayinclude information about or associated with the damaged vehicle, sensordata, damage descriptions, and/or images that may pertain to aspects ofthe crash, such as vehicle operating characteristics near or at the timeof the crash (impact characteristics), e.g., vehicle acceleration,vehicle velocity, and/or impact direction. To estimate the extent ofvehicle damage caused in the crash, the system may analyze one or moreaspects of the crash information. For example, the system may analyzevehicle operating data received from sensors operatively coupled to thevehicle to calculate an estimate of the amount of vehicle damage base onthe force characteristics of the crash. The system may also calculate anestimate of the amount of damage by analyzing a description and/or imageof the damaged vehicle. Based on the extent of vehicle damage estimatedby the analysis of the crash information, the treatment complexity levelfor treating the damaged vehicle may be determined.

The analysis for estimating the amount of vehicle damage may includecomparing the crash information to collision data of a vehicle type thatincludes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle. Thecollision data may include various levels of vehicle damage associatedwith specified aspects or characteristics of collision informationrelated to other vehicles of the same or similar type as the vehicledamaged in the crash. One or more categories of vehicle damage in thecollision data may be equated to particular vehicle acceleration orvelocity, or a range of vehicle acceleration or velocity occurring at ornear the time of impact of the crash. The one or more categories ofvehicle damage in the collision data may also be equated to a particulardescription, image, illustration, etc., of a damaged vehicle. Based onthe extent of vehicle damage estimated by substantially matching thecrash information to comparable characteristics in the collision data,the treatment complexity level for treating the damaged vehicle may bedetermined.

The treatment complexity level is an estimate indicating the level ofinvolvement, e.g., effort, cost; associated with treating the damagedvehicle. The treatment of the vehicle may include repairing or replacingdamaged vehicle parts, and in some instances where repairing the vehicleis too costly and not worth repairing (e.g., total loss), the treatmentmay include salvaging or scrapping the damaged vehicle. Damaged vehiclesdesignated as a total loss, but which include some value (e.g.,salvageable vehicle parts), may be sold as is, or repaired to someextent for resale. In addition, the undamaged vehicle parts of a totalloss vehicle may be salvaged and stored, reused, or sold.

In some embodiments, the treatment complexity level may be determinedfor each damaged vehicle part and/or groups of damaged vehicle partsusing treatment codes and/or vehicle parts lists. For example, the hoodof a damaged vehicle may require minor repairs whereas the fender may bedamaged significantly and require major repairs. Alternatively, thetreatment complexity level may be determined for groups of vehicle partsusing treatment codes and/or lists of damaged and/or undamaged vehicleparts. For example, one treatment code may propose repairs and/orreplacement to one group of vehicle parts and be classified as a minorrepair; while another treatment code may propose repairs and/orreplacement to one or more critical vehicle parts and be classified as amajor repair or a total loss.

Several factors may affect the determination of the treatment complexitylevel, including, and not limited to, the market value of the vehicletype (e.g., make, model, trim level, and/or year of manufacture) thatincludes the damaged vehicle and the corresponding vehicle parts. Thetreatment complexity level may also be determined in part on the marketvalue of the treatment services provided by treatment personnel involvedwith the prescribed treatment of the damaged vehicle. Generally, themarket value may be based on a set schedule with incremental adjustmentsover a predetermined period of time, e.g., depreciation over the lifeexpectancy of the vehicle type. However, if the market value shouldsuddenly change due to an unforeseen circumstance, the scheduled marketvalue may become outdated and less useful. Using outdated market valuesfor vehicle parts and/or services may result in miscalculated andinaccurate determinations of the treatment complexity level.

To accommodate for sudden and/or unforeseen changes in the market valueof a vehicle, its vehicle parts, and/or potential vehicle treatmentservices associated with the vehicle, one or more market values may bemonitored and used in the determination of the treatment complexitylevel. For example, on-demand or periodic (e.g., hourly, daily)monitoring of the market value may be implemented to adapt to a suddenand/or unforeseen change in a market value. Some examples of suddenand/or unforeseen changes that may affect the market value of a vehicle,its vehicle parts, and/or associated treatment services include:discontinued production of a type of vehicle (e.g., make, model, trimlevel), and trends in vehicle popularity. By adapting to sudden and/orunforeseen changes in market value, a calculated and more accuratetreatment complexity level may be used in comparison to a fixed-rate andlikely defunct market value.

Upon determination of the treatment complexity level, informationrelated to treating the damaged vehicle is transmitted by the system.The transmitted information may be automatically sent after the crash toone or more treatment facilities, vehicle parts suppliers, vehicletransporters, and/or persons or entities associated with the damagedvehicle, for example, the vehicle owner and/or an insurance agent. Inone example embodiment, the vehicle treatment system allows for thetimely delivery of replacement vehicle parts to a selected vehicletreatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle, thereby avoidingthe cost and time associated with known damage assessment procedureswherein the damaged vehicle is brought to the treatment facility forinspection and assessment before treatment can be scheduled. Forexample, an estimate of the damage to the vehicle may be made shortlyafter the crash to determine whether the damaged vehicle can berepaired. If it is not feasible to repair the damaged vehicle (e.g.,total loss), the damaged vehicle may be brought to a vehicle treatmentfacility capable of salvaging and/or scrapping the damaged vehicle. Fora repairable vehicle, damaged vehicle parts that may need to be repairedand/or replaced may be identified based on the received crashinformation, wherein the location and availability of such replacementvehicle parts within a vehicle parts network may then be determined. Anaggregated order of the identified replacement vehicle parts among theone or more vehicle parts suppliers may be compiled and a transportationroute may be generated based on the location and availability of thereplacement vehicle parts. A single delivery vehicle may be utilized totravel the transportation route and gather the aggregated order ofreplacement vehicle parts for delivery to the selected vehicle treatmentfacility. The cost associated with using single delivery vehicle totimely deliver the aggregated order of replacement vehicle parts fromone or more vehicle parts suppliers of the vehicle parts network islikely less than the cost associated with using several deliveryvehicles and/or routes to deliver the ordered replacement vehicle parts.In addition, assessing the performance and/or efficiency of the vehicletreatment process with respect to vehicle parts suppliers involved inthe treatment of the damaged vehicle is more simply evaluated with asingle delivery vehicle and aggregated route as compared to multipledelivery vehicles and multiple routes. For example, responsibility amongthe vehicle parts suppliers for a delayed delivery of the replacementvehicle parts may be more readily identifiable when one aggregateddelivery route is utilized as opposed to multiple delivery routes.

FIG. 1 is a general overview of a system 100 capable of facilitatingtreatment of a vehicle damaged in a crash. As used herein, the term“vehicle” refers to any type of powered transportation device, whichincludes, and is not limited to, an automobile, truck, bus, motorcycle,and boat. While the vehicle may normally be controlled by an onboardoperator, it is to be understood that the vehicle may be unmanned andremotely or autonomously operated in a conventional or nonconventionalmanner, such as using controls other than the steering wheel, gearshift, brake pedal, and accelerator pedal.

The system 100 in FIG. 1 includes a processing center 102 capable offacilitating an analysis of the damaged vehicle's crash information 104to determine a treatment for the damaged vehicle. The analysis of thecrash information 104, which may include the use of collision data 106,may be performed by system personnel and/or a computing device at theprocessing center 102. Throughout this description, the term crash isused in reference to a particular incident in which a particular vehicleof concern was damaged and the term collision is used in reference toone or more incidents in which another vehicle or vehicles were damaged.

The crash information 104 provided to the processing center 102 includesspecific information related to a particular vehicle and the crash thatdamaged the particular vehicle. The crash information 104 may includeinformation received from telematics devices, e.g., sensors, operativelycoupled to the vehicle or observed by an individual, such as a vehicleoperator/owner 108, a vehicle occupant, a bystander, an insuranceagent/entity 110 of the damaged vehicle, an emergency responder, anaccident investigator, etc. The crash information 104 may includeoperating characteristics of the vehicle involved in the crash such asthe approximate speed of the vehicle at the time of the crash and whatpart(s) of the vehicle was damaged. Other observed or obtained crashinformation provided to system personnel and/or the processing center102 may include whether emergency response components and/or deviceswere deployed, e.g., airbags; or if the damaged vehicle is drivable.Images of the damaged vehicle may also be included in the crashinformation 104, which may be provided for analysis and/or comparisonwith the collision data 106.

In some embodiments, the vehicle's operating information may bemonitored by a series of measurements of conditions or characteristicspertaining to the operation of the vehicle. In particular, one or morecomputing devices such as a mobile computing device, an on-boardcomputing device, and/or a server device may be communicatively coupledto sensors such as an accelerometer array operatively coupled to thevehicle. The accelerometer array may monitor and/or measure theacceleration/deceleration of the vehicle along several axes and/ortravelling directions. Other vehicle operating information such asvehicle acceleration, velocity, and direction may be measured, logged,and stored in the system 100, for example, a data storage unit of thesystem or a remote storage unit communicatively coupled to the system.The operating information may be logged and/or stored discretely,periodically (e.g., every second or portion or multiple thereof), orconditionally based on an occurrence or detection of an event (e.g., acrash log).

The detection of a crash involving the vehicle may be facilitated in oneor more novel or known ways. A crash may be detected through anear-simultaneous activation of an emergency responsive device,component, or action, such as the deployment of an air-bag, and/or analarm or alert, e.g., automatic collision notification (ACN), etc. Inanother embodiment incorporating an accelerometer, a crash may bedetected when a computing device operatively coupled to theaccelerometer detects a significant, near immediate change (increase ordecrease) in the monitored acceleration in the fore-aft, lateral, and/orvertical direction of the vehicle, e.g., X, Y, and Z axes. In a furtherembodiment, a crash may be detected through the use of a globalpositioning system (GPS) unit via detection of a near-immediate increaseand/or decrease in vehicle velocity.

Additional crash information 104 may include a vehicle identifier suchas a vehicle data identifier (VDI) associated with the damaged vehicleinvolved in the crash. The VDI may include sections or segments relatingto one or more aspects or characteristics of the vehicle, such as, avehicle manufacturer identifier, vehicle type identifier, a vehicleserial number, pointers to other vehicle information (e.g., marketvalue), etc., and may include reference to the make, model, trim level,year, and/or type of vehicle as well the vehicle parts of the vehicle.The VDI may also include the vehicle's vehicle identification number(VIN) and/or portions thereof. The VIN may identify a unique vehicle andinclude multiple sections or segments in a standardized format thatgenerally depends on the vehicle manufacturer and/or the country orgovernment agency where the VIN is used, e.g., U.S.A., European Union.The sections or segments of the VIN are associated with a vehiclemanufacturer identifier, vehicle type identifier, a vehicle serialnumber, etc., and may include reference to the make, model, trim level,year, and/or type of vehicle as well the vehicle parts of the associatedvehicle.

Collision data 106 generally includes records or compilations ofinformation involving other vehicles damaged in other collisions. Thecollision data 106 may include historical loss information havingvarious collision scenarios including lists of damaged and/or undamagedvehicle parts, images, telematics data, and vehicle damage evaluations.Historical loss information may include recorded amounts of vehicledamage associated with or resulting from known, observed, or measuredaspects relating to a collision or impact of a particular make and/ormodel of vehicle, such as vehicle direction, acceleration, and/orvelocity, as well as relative position of vehicle parts within thevehicle. Some examples of historical loss information include vehiclecollision test data, bumper test data, collision image data, trafficaccident investigation data, and the like.

The collision data 106 may be compiled into one or more charts or tableswherein various collision aspects are associated with known, predicted,or determined vehicle damage. For example, the collision data 106 may becorrelated with one or more sections or segments of the VDI and/or VIN,which may further be correlated to vehicle manufacturer information;prescribed vehicle treatments and costs; vehicle part warranties; marketvalue estimations of various vehicle types, vehicle parts, vehicletreatment services, and/or procedures, etc. The collision data 106 mayalso include vehicle safety information including, and not limited to,vehicle part recall information, safety notices, repair notices, etc.The collision data 106, which may be stored in the system 100 and/oroperatively coupled to the processing center 102, may be periodicallyand/or discretely updated to include additional vehicle operatingcharacteristics from other collisions, vehicle part damage of otherdamaged vehicles of similar vehicle type, and changes to the marketvalue of vehicles, vehicle parts, and/or prescribed vehicle treatmentservices.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram 200 depicting an example embodiment of avehicle treatment process that may be implemented by the treatmentsystem 100 shown in FIG. 1. The process 200 may be executed separatelyor cooperatively by system personnel and the processing center 102.Vehicle crash information is received or gathered for analysis (block202). The vehicle crash information may be provided to system personneland/or the processing center 102 by a vehicle occupant, bystander, oremergency responder communicating characteristics of the crash. Forexample, the driver of the damaged vehicle may contact system personneland/or the processing center 102 and provide operating characteristicsof the vehicle near or at the time of the crash, e.g., impactcharacteristics such as approximate vehicle speed, description and/orimage of vehicle damage, description of vehicle operation, and whetherportions of the vehicle's safety system were used as a result of thecrash. Some crash information, such as the VDI and/or VIN, may havepreviously been provided to the processing center 102 and/or systempersonnel.

Crash information may also be automatically provided to system personneland/or the processing center 102 by the vehicle's engine control unit(ECU) and/or one or more telematics devices or components (sometimesreferred to as an event data recorder (EDR)) that are capable ofsensing, monitoring, and/or noting various vehicle operatingcharacteristics, e.g., acceleration, velocity, position of vehicle partsrelative to the vehicle, direction of the vehicle at the time of thecrash, and deployment of emergency response equipment. The telematicsdevices are operatively coupled to the vehicle and may be configured toautomatically function when the vehicle is in operation. When a crash isdetected, data including one or more monitored operating characteristicsof the vehicle may be automatically obtained and transmitted via acommunication signal to system personnel and/or the processing center102 as crash information 104.

The crash information 104 may be analyzed and/or evaluated by systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102 to determine an estimate ofthe extent of damage caused to the vehicle during the crash (block 204).The compilation of historical collision information 106 includingvehicle operating characteristics associated with known vehicle damagefrom similar vehicles involved in previous collisions may be used toestimate the amount of damage that occurred to the vehicle during thecrash. For example, a damage evaluation tool may include a guide ortemplate to be used in estimating the extent of vehicle damage. Storedimages and operating characteristics of other similar type vehiclesdamaged in other collisions may be used in the analysis to correlatewith operating characteristics obtained in the crash information of thedamaged vehicle. In one embodiment, the extent of vehicle damageresulting from the crash can be estimated by comparing crash information104, e.g., images and/or vehicle operating characteristics and aspectsof the crash; with collision information 106 of other similar typevehicles, e.g., make, model, and or trim level.

Once the extent of vehicle damage caused by the crash has beenestimated, a treatment complexity level for treating the damaged vehiclemay be determined (block 206) by system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102. The treatment complexity level may include one or morevehicle treatment components for treating the damaged vehicle, such as apricing schema having one or more predetermined price structuresassociated with a vehicle, its vehicle parts, and/or services associatedwith treating the vehicle, e.g., treatment codes, treatment schedule,skill level and/or pay rate of treatment personnel, and/or equipment ofa treatment facility used to treat the damaged vehicle.

The collision data 106 may include a range of treatment complexitylevels corresponding to various amounts of vehicle damage, whereinvarious levels of vehicle damage may be equated with various levels ofvehicle treatment. In particular, the range of vehicle treatmentcomplexity levels may be delineated by the amount of involvementassociated with treating a damaged vehicle, for example, repairingand/or replacing vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle, or salvagingand/or scrapping a damaged vehicle determined to be a total loss. Insome embodiments, the treatment complexity level represents thedifficulty associated with treating individual vehicle parts within thedamaged vehicle.

The several levels of treatment complexity may include a speed or lightrepair, a medium or moderate repair, a heavy or severe repair, notrepairable, scrap, and salvage, for example. A speed or light repairtreatment designation may indicate or estimate that one or two vehicleparts need repair or replacement, or that minor refinishing may berequired, but that no structural damage occurred to the vehicle. Amedium or moderate repair treatment designation may indicate that a fewvehicle parts require repair or replacement or that light structuraldamage occurred to the vehicle. A heavy or extensive repair treatmentdesignation may indicate that the vehicle is not drivable, significantstructural damage occurred to the vehicle, more than a predeterminedamount of vehicle parts (e.g., five) need repair or replacement, or awelded-on vehicle component needs replacement. A scrap designation mayindicate that the vehicle is to be scrapped and not repaired. Prior toscrapping, the damaged vehicle may be dismantled to salvage anyundamaged or usable vehicle parts.

Each treatment complexity level may include estimates or indications ofthe type, time, and/or cost of treatment associated with the type ofvehicle (e.g., make, model, year, trim level, etc.) and amount ofvehicle parts that may be damaged, e.g., body panel (front, side, rear,quarter-panel, rocker, driver-side, and passenger-side), bumper,radiator, lights, water pump, battery, struts, frame, and gas tank. Theestimated extent of vehicle damage determined by system personnel and/orthe processing center 102 may include vehicle treatment codes and/or alist of damaged and/or undamaged vehicle parts. By comparing and/ormatching the vehicle treatment codes and/or lists of damaged andundamaged vehicle parts of the vehicle damaged in the crash to thevehicle collision data 106, system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 may identify the requisite treatment complexity level. Forexample, a vehicle damage estimate requiring less than 10 hours of labortime and/or $1000 in replacement vehicle parts may be designated as alow treatment complexity level; a vehicle damage estimate requiringbetween 10-15 hours of labor time and/or between $1000-$2500 inreplacement vehicle parts may be designated as a medium treatmentcomplexity level; a vehicle damage estimate requiring between 15-30hours of labor time and/or between $2500-$5000 in replacement vehicleparts may be designated as a high treatment complexity level; and avehicle damage estimate requiring more than 30 hours of labor time,and/or having costs and labor greater than the market value of thedamaged vehicle in an undamaged condition, may be designated as a totalloss, scrapping, and/or salvaging treatment complexity level. The totalloss, scrapping, and/or salvaging designation indicates that the vehicleis not to be repaired. For such non-repairable designations, the damagedvehicle may be dismantled to salvage any undamaged or usable vehicleparts, wherein the remaining vehicle parts may be scrapped or sold.

Each damaged vehicle part and/or group of vehicle parts may be assigneda vehicle treatment code from a set of vehicle treatment codes based onthe extent of the damage to the vehicle and/or vehicle part(s). The setof vehicle treatment codes may include a separate vehicle treatment codefor each combination of crash characteristics, such as the make, model,year, and/or trim level of the vehicle being treated; the vehicle partor a list of vehicle parts being treated; the type of treatment for thevehicle part(s) including whether the vehicle part(s) needs to berepaired, replaced, salvaged, or scrapped; the extent of the damage tothe vehicle part(s), etc. Each vehicle treatment code may include and/orcorrespond to a cost estimate. For example, a specific vehicle treatmentcode may include repairing the hood of a first particular vehicle type(make, model, etc.) with slight damage. Another specific vehicletreatment code may include replacing the bumper of a second particularvehicle type with heavy damage. The associated cost estimate for thevehicle treatment code for the first vehicle type may be $100 whereasthe associated cost estimate for the treatment code for the secondvehicle type may be $500. Each assigned vehicle treatment code may becombined to determine a total cost estimate for treating the damagedvehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example table 300 of vehicle treatment codesfor estimating the cost of treating vehicle damage is depicted. It is tobe understood that while the example table 300 includes example repairtreatment codes that may be a small subset of a larger set of vehiclerepair codes, other type of vehicle treatment codes may include orpertain to vehicle treatment of total loss vehicles relating tosalvaging and/or scrapping values of undamaged vehicle parts. Asmentioned above, the set of vehicle treatment codes may include aseparate vehicle treatment code for each combination of vehiclecharacteristics such as make and model of the vehicle being repaired,the vehicle part being repaired, the type of repair for the vehicle partincluding whether the vehicle part needs to be repaired and/or replaced,the extent of the damage to the vehicle part, etc. Each vehicletreatment code may correspond to a cost estimate, where the costestimate may be determined based on collision data including historicalloss information of similar type vehicles having similar type damage.For example, the associated cost estimate for a repair codecorresponding to repairing the quarter panel of a particular make,model, trim level, etc. (e.g., type) of vehicle having moderate damagemay be determined by analyzing repair costs from historical lossinformation related to repairing quarter panels of that particular typeof vehicle having moderate damage from past collisions. In someembodiments, the vehicle treatment codes may be stored in the system 100and/or operatively coupled to the processing center 102.

As shown in FIG. 3, repair code 00675 (reference 304) is associated withan instruction, “Refinish Hood,” and a cost estimate, $300. While theinstruction for repair code 00675 (reference 304) does not specify theextent of the damage to the hood, or the make and model of the vehicle,repair code 00675 (reference 304) may be used for refinishing hoods of aparticular type of vehicle with light damage. In some embodiments, aseparate repair code, for example, 10675 may be used for refinishinghoods for vehicles of a different particular type of vehicle with lightdamage. Moreover, yet another repair code, for example, 02675, may beused for refinishing hoods on vehicles with moderate damage. Further, insome embodiments, the set of repair codes may be based on additional oralternative vehicle characteristics and in other embodiments some of theabove mentioned vehicle characteristics may be omitted from the set ofrepair codes.

As further shown in FIG. 3, repair code 00610 (reference 302) isassociated with the instruction, “Repair Roof,” and a cost estimate of$700; repair code 00676 (reference 306) is associated with theinstruction, “Refinish Fender,” and a cost estimate of $200; repair code00678 (reference 308) is associated with the instruction, “ReplaceGrille,” and a cost estimate of $250; repair code 00679 (reference 310)is associated with the instruction, “Replace Door,” and a cost estimateof $500; repair code 00682 (reference 312) is associated with theinstruction, “Replace Quarter Panel,” and a cost estimate of $400;repair code 00690 (reference 314) is associated with the instruction,“Repair Bumper,” and a cost estimate of $100; and repair code 00692(reference 316) is associated with the instruction, “Repair Trunk Lid,”and a cost estimate of $350. Each of these repair codes may be for thesame particular vehicle type and may be aggregated and/or combined toestimate the total cost of repair for a damaged vehicle of thatparticular type. For example, by comparing crash information for adamaged vehicle of a particular type to collision data, a list ofdamaged vehicle parts including the extent of the damage to each vehiclepart may be generated. A repair code from the set of repair codes maythen be assigned to each damaged vehicle part in the list based on thevehicle characteristics for the damaged vehicle. For example, repaircode 00679 (reference 310) may be assigned when a door in a specifiedtype of vehicle needs to be replaced. In some embodiments, repair code00679 may be assigned twice when two doors in the specified type ofvehicle need to be replaced.

While the example table 300 depicts eight vehicle treatment codes (e.g.,vehicle repair codes for a particular type of vehicle), this is merelyfor ease of illustration only. There may be hundreds or thousands ofrepair codes, each corresponding to a different combination of vehiclecharacteristics. More specifically, each type may correspond to aseparate subset of repair codes including each combination of vehiclecharacteristics. For example, repair codes 00600-00699 may correspond toone type of vehicle, while repair codes 00700-00799 may correspond toanother type of vehicle. The vehicle type may be determined using theVDI/VIN data for the damaged vehicle as described above with referenceto FIG. 1. Furthermore, in some embodiments, repair codes may also beused in salvaging and/or scrapping treatments. For example, the repaircode 19986 may be used for salvaging hoods of a particular type ofvehicle in good condition. The associated cost estimate may be a priceestimate of the market value of the vehicle part assuming it is sold toa treatment facility or any other auto body shop. The salvage repaircodes may have an inverse relationship with the other repair codes. Forexample, for the salvage repair codes, vehicle parts in better conditionmay have higher associated price estimates, whereas for the other repaircodes, the cost estimates become higher when there is more work thatneeds to be done to repair the vehicle part. Further, the price estimatemay be based on the scarcity/demand for the vehicle part. For example,vehicle parts from an antique or classic car may be in high demandbecause the car is no longer manufactured. The price estimates forsalvage repair codes may be aggregated to determine the total price thatan insurance provider can recover by salvaging vehicle parts.

FIG. 4 depicts an example damaged vehicle 400 including repair codes forvarious vehicle parts. Continuing with the vehicle treatment examplefrom FIG. 3, the damaged vehicle 400 may be associated with repair codes00600-00699, which may be assigned to estimate the cost of repairing thevehicle. Moreover, in some embodiments, the repair codes may be providedto a treatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle so thetreatment facility knows what needs to be done to repair the vehiclewithout having to perform an inspection or assessment. The repair codesalso may be provided to ensure that the treatment facility does not missa portion of the repair.

In any event, crash information for the damaged vehicle 400 may becompared to collision data including historical loss information ofsimilar type vehicles damaged in past collisions to determine whichvehicle parts are damaged, and the estimated extent of the damage to thevehicle parts including the type of repair necessary (e.g., whether thevehicle part needs to be repaired and/or replaced) as described above inFIG. 3. A repair code from the set of repair codes may then be assignedto each damaged vehicle part in the list based on the vehiclecharacteristics for the damaged vehicle.

In the example damaged vehicle 400, the two doors 402 and 404 areassigned the repair code 00679 “Replace Door” with an associated costestimate of $500 for each door. The front, right fender 406 is assignedrepair code 00676 “Refinish Fender” with an associated cost estimate of$200, the hood 408 is assigned repair code 00675 “Refinish Hood” with anassociated cost estimate of $300, and the roof 410 is assigned repaircode 00610 “Replace Roof” with an associated cost estimate of $700.Further, the trunk lid 412 is assigned repair code 00692 “Repair TrunkLid” with an associated cost estimate of $350, and the rear quarterpanel 414 is assigned repair code 00682 “Replace Quarter Panel” with anassociated cost estimate of $400. Additionally, the grille 416 isassigned repair code 00678 “Replace Grille” with an associated costestimate of $250, and the bumper 418 is assigned repair code 00690“Repair Bumper” with an associated cost estimate of $100. Combining thecost estimates for each of the repair codes corresponding to the damagedvehicle parts, the total cost for repairing the vehicle may be estimatedas $3300. This estimate may be used to pay the vehicle owner on theinsurance claim, and/or to provide a treatment facility with anexpectation of the cost and treatment of repair for the damaged vehicle.

Referring again to FIG. 2, upon determination of the estimated treatmentcomplexity level, system personnel and/or the processing center 102 mayidentify and select a vehicle treatment facility 112 capable ofperforming the recommended vehicle treatment, for example, repair,salvage, or scrap (block 208). System personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 may compare the calculated treatment complexity level toprospective treatment facilities capable of providing the necessaryvehicle treatment. The selection of a vehicle treatment facility fromamong the one or more capable treatment facilities may be based on oneor more dynamic criterion, such as a pricing structure, treatmentfacility capability, replacement vehicle part availability, treatmentfacility location, treatment facility quality rating and/orcertification, treatment facility availability, current and/or priorbusiness relationship with the treatment facility, etc., andcombinations thereof. One or more of these dynamic criteria may also beweighted and/or prioritized by system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 when determining a treatment facility for treatment of thevehicle. For example, a low complexity vehicle treatment generally maynot require a high or specialized skill level and the proximity and/orconvenience of a vehicle treatment facility nearer the vehicle owner orthe crash site may be considered to be more appropriate. Thus, for a lowcomplexity treatment, the location criterion of the vehicle treatmentfacility may be weighted and/or prioritized over some of the othercriteria. For medium or high complexity vehicle treatments, the skilllevel and/or performance record of the treatment facility may beconsidered and thus weighted and/or prioritized over some or all of theother criteria for determining a treatment facility.

In some instances where the damage to the vehicle is too extensive orcostly to be repaired and is determined to be a total loss, the damagedvehicle may be salvaged and immediately sold or put up for auction orscrapped and shredded for its scrap metal. Scrapping the vehicle may beappropriated for low dollar, high curb-weight vehicles where the valueof the damaged vehicle is perceived to be in the scrap metal. In otherinstances, the damaged vehicle may be dismantled to salvage any valueassociated with the damaged vehicle. For example, if the damaged vehicleincludes undamaged vehicle parts, the vehicle may be dismantled and theundamaged vehicle parts may be harvested and stored in a storagefacility for later use and/or sale. The determination to sell ordismantle the damaged vehicle may include consideration of the treatmentcomplexity level, the make, model, and year of the vehicle, and themarket demand and/or desirability of particular harvested vehicle parts,e.g., at-risk vehicle parts for vehicles that are no longer inproduction. Additionally, a higher monetized recovery of the damagedvehicle may be attained if the damaged vehicle is partially repairedand/or dismantled to a varying extent, and then sold. For example,higher value and late model vehicles and/or vehicle parts may beprepared for sale. Such vehicles and vehicle parts, as well as rare orhard to find vehicles and vehicle parts may be privately or publiclysold or auctioned through a salvage treatment facility partnering withan entity using or administrating the treatment system and/or processdescribed herein. Any unwanted vehicle parts that remain afterdismantling may be shredded or scrapped.

Upon selection of an appropriate vehicle treatment facility, systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102 may transmit a communicationincluding information related to the treatment of the damaged vehicle(block 210). The communication may be sent in the form of wired and/orwireless transmission, e.g., SMS text, e-mail, phone call, facsimile,etc. to the identified treatment facility. The communication may also betransmitted to the vehicle owner and/or other one or more other entitiesauthorized by the vehicle owner, such as a vehicle repair facility, avehicle scrap facility, emergency personnel, an insurance agent, etc. Inone example embodiment, system personnel and/or the processing center102 may contact the identified vehicle treatment facility 112 or avehicle transporter 114 to facilitate transportation of the damagedvehicle from the crash site to the selected treatment facility, e.g., aservice repair center, a scrapping or salvaging facility. Forirreparably damaged vehicles (e.g., total loss), the damaged vehicle maybe sent to an identified scrapping or salvaging facility to bedismantled where undamaged vehicle parts may be salvaged and stored at awarehouse 116 for reuse and resale before the remaining parts of thedamaged vehicle are scrapped.

In addition to estimating the extent of vehicle damage, collision datamay be used to detect risks of insurance fraud. FIG. 5 depicts a flowdiagram 500 of an example embodiment for detecting risks of insurancefraud based on collision data, which may be accomplished by systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102. The collision data mayinclude injury data for injured drivers and/or passengers in pastcollisions. For example, the collision data may include information onthe percentage of drivers and/or passengers who were injured drivingToyota Priuses which experienced heavy damage to the hood and frontframe rails during past collisions. More specifically, the collisiondata may include information on the type of injuries suffered by thosedrivers and/or passengers, i.e., neck injuries, severe head trauma,etc., as well as the percentage of drivers and/or passengers whosuffered each type of injury.

In particular, system personnel and/or the processing center 102 mayutilize crash characteristics provided by an individual present at thecrash site, such as the driver and/or occupant of the damaged vehicle oran emergency responder or crash characteristics automatically attainedby telematics devices operatively coupled to the vehicle (block 502).For example, descriptions and images of the damaged vehicle, vehicleacceleration, velocity, position of vehicle parts within the vehicle,and/or direction of the vehicle may be provided. Some crash informationmay be attained by an accelerometer and an array of sensors includingspatial sensors at the time of the crash and then transmitted via awireless communication module to system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102.

System personnel and/or the processing center 102 may also receive aninjury claim from the policy holder for the vehicle, or another personinjured in the crash (block 504). For example, the injury claim may befor a driver and/or passenger in the damaged vehicle at the time of thecrash or a driver and/or passenger in another vehicle that is alsodamaged as a result of the crash. The injury claim may include the typeof injury, the severity of the injury, medical expenses, othercomplications as a result of the injury, etc.

System personnel and/or the processing center 102 may then analyze thecrash information. In one example embodiment, system personnel and/orthe processing center 102 may compare various combinations of crashcharacteristics to collision data (block 506). The collision data mayinclude historical loss information of similar type vehicles damaged inpast collisions. The collision data may also include injury data forinjured drivers and/or passengers in past collisions. The injury datamay be for drivers and/or passengers of the damaged vehicle as well asfor drivers and/or passengers of other vehicles involved in the crash.In this manner, the system personnel and/or the processing center 102may determine injury data for a subset of the collision data for similartype vehicles and having similar crash characteristics and/or a similarextent of damage. For example, if the damaged vehicle is a Ford F-150with a dented rear quarter panel requiring moderate repairs, injury datamay be generated for all Ford F-150s with dented rear quarter panelsrequiring moderate repair from past collisions. In some embodiments,injury data may be generated for all Ford F-150s with dented rearquarter panels requiring moderate repair and having any other type(s) ofdamage as well. However, in other embodiments, injury data may begenerated specifically for Ford F-150s having only dented rear quarterpanels requiring moderate repair from past collisions.

An example injury data table 470 for F-150s having the above describeddamage is illustrated in FIG. 6. As mentioned above, the injury data maybe stored with the collision data 106 which may be stored in the system100 and/or operatively coupled to the processing center 102. The exampleinjury data table 600 includes an entry for the total number of peopleinjured, 25 (reference 602), in crashes involving a Ford F-150 where thedamaged vehicle has a dented rear quarter panel requiring moderaterepair. The data table 600 also includes entries for the total number ofpeople who were not injured, 100, and the percentage of people who wereinjured, 20 percent. Moreover, the data table 600 also includes entriesfor the number of people as well as the percentage of people with neckinjuries 604, back injuries 606, and head injuries 608 as a result ofthe crashes. Some people injured in the crashes may have sufferedmultiple injuries (e.g., back and head, head and neck, etc.).

In some embodiments, the injury data table 600 may also include thenumber of people who suffered injuries of varying severity. For example,out of the 25 people injured in the data table 600, 10 people may havesuffered severe injuries, 10 people may have suffered moderate injuries,2 people may have suffered minor injuries, etc. Moreover, the data table600 may also include the locations of the people who suffered injuriesin the vehicle (e.g., the driver's seat, the front passenger seat, theback left seat, etc.), as well as the number of people who sufferedinjuries in other vehicles (e.g., 15 percent of the people were injuredin Ford F-150s, while 85 percent were injured in other vehicles as aresult of colliding with Ford F-150s). Additionally, the injury datatable 600 may include any other suitable injury data for past collisionsinvolving Ford F-150s having dented rear quarter panels requiringmoderate repairs. While the injury data table 600 is specific to injurydata for Ford F-150s having dented rear quarter panels requiringmoderate repairs, there may be several other injury data tables for FordF-150s having one or more other damaged vehicle parts with varyingextents of damage. There may also be several other injury data tablesfor other vehicle makes and/or models. Moreover, the injury data table600 may be specific to those injured in Ford F-150s, and there may be aseparate injury data table and/or injury data for those injured by FordF-150s.

The example injury data table 600 of FIG. 6, or any other suitableinjury data, may be compared with the claimed injury for detecting arisk of fraud. Turning back to FIG. 5, the injury claim may be comparedto injury data for similar type vehicles and having similar crashcharacteristics and/or similar extent of damage as the damaged vehicle(block 508). For example, if the injury claim is a claim for a severeback injury from the driver of a Ford F-150 that is determined to have adented rear quarter panel requiring moderate repairs, the injury claimmay be compared to the injury data table 600 of FIG. 6 to determinewhether the injury claim matches with the injury data (block 510).

To determine whether the injury claim matches the injury data, theprocessing center 102 may compare the percentage of people injured inthe injury data to a predetermined threshold likelihood, i.e., 20percent. If the percentage of people injured in the injury data exceedsthe predetermined threshold likelihood, a suspicious loss indicator maynot be generated (block 516). On the other hand, if the percentage ofpeople injured in the injury data is less than the predeterminedthreshold likelihood, a suspicious loss indicator may be generated(block 512) and transmitted to an insurance agent, a claims center, etc.(block 514).

In some embodiments, the total percentage of people injured for similartype vehicles and having similar crash characteristics and/or similarextent of damage as the damaged vehicle, may not be the only criteriafor determining whether the injury claim matches with the injury data.Other criteria may include the percentage of people having the same typeof injury (e.g., back, neck, head, etc.), the same injury severity(e.g., minor injuries, moderate injuries, severe injuries), the samelocation within the vehicle (e.g., driver's seat, passenger front seat,back right seat, etc.), the same vehicle (e.g., in the Ford F-150 orcollided with the Ford F-150), etc. Each of these criteria may becompared to a same and/or different threshold likelihoods to determinewhether the injury claim matches the injury data. The injury data may becompared to one or more of the different threshold likelihoods todetermine whether the injury claim matches the injury data. For example,the processing center 102 may determine for the injury claim to matchthe injury data, at least 20 percent of the people must have beeninjured, at least 10 percent must have suffered the same type of injury,at least 5 percent must have suffered the same or a worse injuryseverity, etc.

As mentioned above, if the injury claim does not match the injury data,a suspicious loss indicator may be generated. The suspicious lossindicator may be represented by the percentage or number of peopleclaiming the same or similar injuries from similar past collisions. Thesuspicious loss indicator may also be a phrase such as, “high risk,”“medium risk,” “low risk,” etc., a symbol, a color, or any othersuitable indicator.

In some embodiments, a risk of fraud may also be detected by comparingthe cost of repair from a treatment facility to a cost estimate for therepair, for example, as determined by the repair codes. If the cost ofrepair from the treatment facility exceeds the cost estimate by asubstantial amount, the cost of repair may be flagged as a risk of fraudand a suspicious loss indicator may be generated and transmitted to aninsurance agent, a claims center, etc. That is, based on the extent ofvehicle damage estimated by the comparison of the crash information tothe collision data, the system may detect a risk of fraud by a policyholder or another person involved in the crash.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example treatment system 900capable of being incorporated into the treatment system 100 shown inFIG. 1 and supporting the processes described herein for treating avehicle damaged in a crash. The high-level architecture of the vehicletreatment system 900 includes both hardware and software applications,as well as various data communications channels for communicating databetween the various hardware and software components. The vehicletreatment system 900 may be divided into front-end components 902 andback-end components 904. The front-end components 902 include one ormore computing devices, such as a mobile computing device 910 and/or anon-board computing device 914. Either computing device 910, 914 may bepermanently or removably attached to a vehicle 908 and may interfacewith various sensors coupled to the vehicle 908 (e.g., a speedometer, anaccelerometer, a compass, a global position unit (GPS), spatial sensordisposed throughout the vehicle, etc.) and/or may interface with variousexternal output devices in the vehicle 908, such as one or more tactilealert systems, one or more speakers, one or more displays devices, etc.

Each of the mobile computing device 910 and the on-board computingdevice 914 is capable of performing all of the functions of thecomputing device described herein or may supplement the functionsperformed by the other computing device. The mobile computing device 910and on-board computing device 914 may communicate with one anotherdirectly over a wired or wireless link 916. In addition, the mobilecomputing device 910 and the on-board computing device 914 maycommunicate with a network 930 over wired or wireless links 912, 918,respectively. The network 930 may be a proprietary network, a securepublic internet, a virtual private network, or some other type ofnetwork, such as dedicated access lines, plain ordinary telephone lines,satellite links, etc., and combinations thereof. Where the network 930comprises the internet, data communications may take place over thenetwork 930 via an internet communication protocol.

The treatment system 900 may also include a notification alert system920 (e.g., automatic collision notification (ACN), advanced automaticcollision or crash notification (AACN), event data recorder (EDR)), thatmay record and/or transmit information associated with treating thevehicle 908 after being involved in a crash. The front-end components902 and the back-end components 904 communicate via the communicationnetwork 930. The back-end components 904 include a computing device suchas a server 940 device or system. The server device 940 may include oneor more processors 962 adapted, configured, and/or operatively coupledto and/or within an analyzer to execute various software applicationsand/or modules of the vehicle treatment system 900, in addition to othersoftware routines. The server device 940 may further include a database946 adapted to store the various software applications, modules, and/orroutines as well as data related to the operation of the vehicletreatment system 900. The data may include, for example, informationcollected by the mobile computing device 910 and/or the on-boardcomputing device 914 pertaining to the vehicle treatment system 900 anduploaded to the server device 940, such as sensor inputs, analysescorresponding to the methods discussed above, and images. Other kinds ofinformation that may be stored in the database may include historicalvehicle collision data compiled from crash data involving vehiclescategorized in the same or similar type of vehicle as the vehicle 908and contact information relating to vehicle service repair and/orsalvage treatment facilities, part suppliers, vehicle transporters,vehicle owner, insurance personnel, etc. The computing devices 910, 914and/or server device 940 may access or store data and/or softwareapplications in the database 946 when executing various functions andtasks associated with the operation of the vehicle treatment system 900.

Although the vehicle treatment system 900 is shown to include one serverdevice 940, one mobile computing device 910, and one on-board computingdevice 914, it should be understood that additional server devices 940,mobile computing devices 910, and on-board computing devices 914 may beutilized. For example, the system 900 may include several server devices940 and numerous mobile computing devices 910, all of which may beinterconnected via the network 930. As discussed above, the mobilecomputing device 910 may perform the various functions described hereinin conjunction with the on-board computing device 914 or alone Likewise,the on-board computing device 914 may perform the various functionsdescribed herein in conjunction with the mobile computing device 910 oralone. In either instance, the mobile computing device 910 or on-boardcomputing device may not need to be present. Furthermore, the processingperformed by the one or more server devices 940 may be distributed amonga plurality of server devices 940 configured in an arrangement known as“cloud computing.” This arrangement may provide several advantages, suchas, for example, enabling near real-time uploads and downloads ofinformation as well as periodic uploads and downloads of information.This arrangement may provide for a thin-client embodiment of the mobilecomputing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 describedherein as well as a primary backup of some or all of the data gatheredby the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914.All of the information involved with the treatment system 100, forexample, crash information, collision data, VDI/VIN data, images,historical loss information, damage evaluation tools, damaged vehicleparts list, inventory of vehicle parts stored at the storage facility,vehicle transporters, treatment centers, customer contact information,insurance agent/entity contact information, etc. may be displayed in avariety of formats at the server device 940, wherein system personneland/or the processing center 102 is provided access to such informationfor treating the damaged vehicle.

The server device 940 may have a controller 955 that is operativelyconnected to the database 946 via a link 956. The controller 955 mayalso be operatively connected to the network 930 via a communicationlink 935. It should be noted that, while not shown, additional databasesmay be linked to the controller 955 in a known manner. The controller955 may include a program memory 960, a processor 962 (e.g., amicroprocessor or a microcontroller), a random-access memory (RAM) 964,input/output (I/O) circuitry 966, and a user interface module 963 all ofwhich may be interconnected via an address/data bus 965. The userinterface module 963 facilitates human-to-machine interaction and mayinclude a display screen, keyboard, mouse device, microphone, speaker,etc. Although the I/O circuitry 966 is shown as a single block, the I/Ocircuitry 966 may include a number of different types of I/O circuits.The program memory 960 may be configured to store computer-readableinstructions that when executed by the processor 962 cause the serverdevice 940 to implement a server application 942 and/or a web server943. The instructions for the server application 942 may cause theserver device 940 to implement the methods described herein. While shownas a single block in FIG. 7, it will be appreciated that the serverapplication 942 may include a number of different programs, modules,routines, sub-routines, etc., that may separately or collectively causethe server device 940 to implement the server application 942. It shouldalso be appreciated that although only one processor 962 is shown, thecontroller 955 may include multiple processors and/or microprocessors.Similarly, the memory of the controller 955 may include multiple RAMs964 and multiple program memories 960. The RAM(s) 964 and programmemories 960 may be implemented as semiconductor memories, magneticallyreadable memories, and/or optically readable memories, for example.Further, while the instructions for the server application 942 and webserver 943 are shown being stored in the program memory 960, theinstructions may additionally or alternatively be stored in the database946 and/or RAM 964.

Alternatively, the vehicle treatment system 900 may include only thefront-end components 902. For example, a mobile computing device 910and/or on-board computing device 914 may perform any and/or all of theprocessing associated with compiling or gathering crash information,determining a treatment complexity level based on the crash information,determining a treatment for the vehicle based on the a treatmentcomplexity level; and transmitting information associated with thetreatment of the vehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the mobile computing device 910 may include auser interface module 1002, a positioning module 1006 such as a globalpositioning system (GPS) module, a communication module 1020 which mayinclude one or more wireless radios, a forward image capture module1018, a rearward image capture module 1022, an accelerometer array 1024,and a controller 1004. Similarly, the on-board computing device 914 mayinclude a user interface module 1002, a GPS module 1006, a communicationmodule 1020 which may include one or more wireless radios, a forwardimage capture module 1018, a rearward image capture module 1022, anaccelerometer array 1024, and a controller 1004.

The mobile computing device 910 and on-board computing device 914 may beintegrated into a single device that can perform the functions of bothdevices. It will be appreciated that functions performed by either themobile computing device 910 or the on-board computing device 914 mayalso be performed by the on-board computing device 914 in cooperationwith the mobile computing device 910. The mobile computing device 910may be a general-use mobile personal computer, cellular phone,smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computer (e.g., a watch, glasses,etc.), or a device dedicated to facilitating treatment of a damagedvehicle. The on-board computing device 914 may be a general-use on-boardcomputer capable of performing the functions relating to vehicleoperation or dedicated to facilitate treatment of a damaged vehicle. Theon-board computing device 914 may be installed by the manufacturer ofthe vehicle 908 or as an aftermarket modification to the vehicle.Further, the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914 may be a thin-client device that outsources some or mostprocessing to the server device 940.

Similar to the controller 955, the controller 1004 includes a programmemory 1008, a microprocessor (MP) 1010, a random-access memory (RAM)1012, and input/output (I/O) circuitry 1016, all of which areinterconnected via an address/data bus 1014. Although the I/O circuitry1016 is depicted in FIG. 10 as a single block, the I/O circuitry 1016may include a number of different types of I/O circuits. The programmemory 1008 includes an operating system 1026, a data storage device1028, a plurality of software applications 1030, and a plurality ofsoftware routines 1034. The operating system 1026 may include one of aplurality of mobile platforms such as the iOS®, Android™, Palm® webOS,Windows® Mobile/Phone, BlackBerry® OS, or Symbian® OS mobile technologyplatforms, developed by Apple Inc., Google Inc., Palm Inc. (nowHewlett-Packard Company), Microsoft Corporation, Research in Motion(RIM), and Nokia, respectively. The data storage 1028 may includeapplication data for the plurality of applications 1030, routine datafor the plurality of routines 1034, and other data necessary to interactwith the server 940 through the network 930. In particular, the datastorage device 1028 may include vehicle collision data associated with avehicle type that includes the vehicle 908. The vehicle type may includethe make, model, and year of the vehicle. The vehicle collision data mayinclude one or more compilations of recorded measurements of damagedvehicle parts and components and the corresponding acceleration andderived vectors, e.g., velocity and direction, of such characteristicsattributed for the damage. In some embodiments, the controller 1004 mayalso include, or otherwise be operatively coupled for communication withother data storage mechanisms (e.g., one or more hard disk drives,optical storage drives, solid state storage devices, etc.) that mayreside within the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computer914 or operatively coupled to the network 930 and/or server device 940.

The GPS module 1006 may use “Assisted GPS” (A-GPS), satellite GPS, orany other suitable global positioning protocol or system that locatesvehicle 908 via the position of the mobile computing device 910 and/oron-board computing device 914. For example, A-GPS utilizes terrestrialcell phone towers or Wi-Fi hotspots (e.g., wireless router points) tomore accurately and more quickly determine the location of the vehicle908 via the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device914 while satellite GPS is generally more useful in more remote regionsthat lack cell towers or Wi-Fi hotspots. The GPS module 1006 may alsofacilitate the determination of the velocity and direction of thevehicle 908, via the coupling of the mobile computing device 910 and/oron-board computing device 914 to the vehicle.

The accelerometer array 1024 is one example of a telematics device ormodule that may incorporate one or more accelerometers positioned todetermine the acceleration and direction of movements of the mobilecomputing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914, whicheffectively correlate to the acceleration and direction of movements ofthe vehicle 908. In some embodiments, the accelerometer array 1024 mayinclude an X-axis accelerometer 1024 x, a Y-axis accelerometer 1024 y,and a Z-axis accelerometer 1024 z to measure the acceleration anddirection of movement in each respective dimension. It will beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a threedimensional vector describing a movement of the vehicle 908 via themobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 throughthree dimensional space can be established by combining the outputs ofthe X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis accelerometers 1024 x, y, z using knownmethods. Single- and multi-axis models of the accelerometer 1024 arecapable of detecting magnitude and direction of acceleration as a vectorquantity, and may be used to sense orientation and/or coordinateacceleration of the vehicle 908.

The forward and rearward image capture module 1018, 1022 may be built-incameras within the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914 and/or may be peripheral cameras, such as webcams, camerasinstalled inside the vehicle 908, cameras installed outside the vehicle908, etc., that are communicatively coupled with the mobile computingdevice 910 and/or on-board computing device 914. The image capturemodule 1018, 1022 may be oriented toward the front and rear of thevehicle 908. For example, the forward image capture module 1018 may beoriented toward the front of the vehicle 908 to observe the forward areaof the vehicle 908 while the rearward image capture module 1022 may beoriented toward the rear of the vehicle 908 to observe the rearward areaof the vehicle 908, or vice-versa. Some embodiments of the treatmentsystem 900 may have both a forward image capture module 1018 and arearward image capture module 1022, but other embodiments may have onlyone or no image capture module. Further, either or both of the forwardimage capture module 1018 and the rearward image capture module 1022 mayinclude an infrared illuminator 1018 i, 1022 i, respectively, tofacilitate low light and/or night image capturing. Such an infraredilluminator 1018 i, 1022 i may be automatically activated when light isinsufficient for image capturing.

The GPS module 1006, the image capture modules 1018, 1022, and theaccelerometer array 1024 may be referred to collectively as the“sensors” of the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914. Of course, it will be appreciated that additional GPSmodules 1006, image capture modules 1018, 1022, and/or the accelerometerarrays 1024 may be operatively coupled to the mobile computing device910 and/or on-board computing device 914. Further, the mobile computingdevice 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 may also include or becoupled to other sensors such as a thermometer, microphone, thermalimage capture device, biomedical sensor, etc. The microphone may beincorporated with the user interface module 1002 and used to receivevoice inputs from the vehicle operator while the thermometer and/orthermal image capture device may be used to determine fire or heatdamage to the vehicle 908, and the biomedical sensor may capturebiological characteristics of the vehicle operator.

The communication module 1020 may communicate with the server device 940via any suitable wired or wireless communication protocol network, suchas a wireless telephony network (e.g., GSM, CDMA, LTE, etc.), a Wi-Finetwork (802.11 standards), a WiMAX network, a Bluetooth network, etc.The communication unit 1020 may also be capable of communicating using anear field communication standard (e.g., ISO/IEC 18092, standardsprovided by the NFC Forum, etc.).

The mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 mayinclude the user-input interface 1002, which may include a “soft”keyboard that is presented on a display screen of the mobile computingdevice 910 and/or on-board computing device 914, an external hardwarekeyboard communicating via a wired or a wireless connection (e.g., aBluetooth keyboard), and an external mouse, or any other suitableuser-input device or component (see examples in FIGS. 9-12). Asdescribed earlier, the user-input module 1002 may also include amicrophone (not shown) capable of receiving voice input from a vehicleoperator as well as a display screen.

With reference to the controllers 955, 1004, it should be appreciatedthat although FIG. 8 depicts only one microprocessor 1010, thecontroller 1004 may include multiple microprocessors 1010. The memory ofthe controller 1004 may also include multiple RAMs 1012 and multipleprogram memories 1008. The controller 1004 may implement the RAM 1012and the program memories 1008 as semiconductor memories, magneticallyreadable memories, and/or optically readable memories, for example. Theone or more processors 1010 may be adapted, configured, and/oroperatively coupled to and/or within an analyzer to execute any of theplurality of software applications 1030 and/or any of the plurality ofsoftware routines 1034 residing in the program memory 1008, in additionto other software applications. One of the plurality of applications1030 may be a client application 1032 that may be implemented as aseries of machine-readable instructions for performing the variousfunctions associated with implementing the vehicle treatment system 900as well as receiving information at, displaying information on, andtransmitting information from the mobile device 910 and/or the on-boardcomputing device 914. A client application 1032 may function toimplement a system wherein the front-end components 902 communicate andcooperate with back-end components 904 as described above. The clientapplication 1032 may include machine-readable instructions forimplementing the user interface 1002 to allow a user to input commandsto, and receive information from, the vehicle treatment system 900. Oneof the plurality of applications 1030 may be a native web browser 1036,such as Apple's Safari®, Google Android™ mobile web browser, MicrosoftInternet Explorer® for Mobile, Opera Mobile™, that may be implemented asa series of machine-readable instructions for receiving, interpreting,and displaying web page information from the server device 940 or otherback-end components 904 while also receiving inputs from the vehicleoperator. Another application of the plurality of applications mayinclude an embedded web browser 1042 that may be implemented as a seriesof machine-readable instructions for receiving, interpreting, anddisplaying web page information from the server device 940 or otherback-end components 904 within the client application 1032.

Another of the plurality of client applications 1030 or routines 1034may include an accelerometer routine 1038 that determines theacceleration and direction of movements of the mobile computing device910 and/or on-board computing device 914, which correlate to theacceleration and direction of the vehicle 908. The accelerometer routinemay process data from the accelerometer array 1024 to determine one ormore vectors describing the motion of the vehicle 908 for use with theclient application 1032. In some embodiments where the accelerometerarray 1024 has X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis accelerometers 1024 x,y,z, theaccelerometer routine 1038 may combine the data from each accelerometer1024 x,y,z to establish the vectors describing the motion of the vehicle908 as it moves through three dimensional space. In some embodiments,the accelerometer routine 1038 may use data pertaining to less thanthree axes.

Another routine in the plurality of applications 1030 or routines 1034may include a vehicle velocity routine 1040 that coordinates with theGPS module 1006 to retrieve vehicle velocity and direction informationfor use with one or more of the plurality of applications, such as theclient application 1032, or for use with other routines.

Yet another routine in the plurality of applications 1030 or routines1034 may include an image capture routine that coordinates with theimage capture modules 1018, 1022 to retrieve image data for use with oneor more of the plurality of applications, such as the client application1032, or for use with other routines.

Another routine in the plurality of application 1030 or routines 1034may include a position determination routine that coordinates with thespatial sensors disposed throughout the vehicle to determine thepositions of vehicle parts relative to the vehicle for use with one ormore of the plurality of applications, such as the client application1032, or for use with other routines.

The user or vehicle operator may also launch or instantiate any othersuitable user interface application (e.g., the native web browser 1036,or any other one of the plurality of software applications 1030) toaccess the server device 940 to implement the vehicle treatment system900. Additionally, the user or vehicle operator may launch the clientapplication 1032 from the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914, to access the server device 940 to implement thevehicle treatment system 900.

After the vehicle operating information (e.g., acceleration, velocity,and direction) has been gathered or determined by the sensors or themobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914,previously recorded collision data may be utilized to determine theextent of damage to the vehicle 908 involved in a crash. Once the extentof the damage has been assessed, a treatment for the vehicle 908 can bedetermined. For example, the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 may determine that the damaged vehicle can berepaired or scrapped, and where the damaged vehicle may be taken forsuch treatment. The mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 may also transmit information associated with thetreatment of the damaged vehicle. For example, the transmittedinformation may be sent to a treatment facility capable of performingthe treatment and/or the information may be sent to a transportationfacility and include a request to transport the damaged vehicle to thetreatment facility. In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 910and/or on-board computing device 914 may display on the user interface1002 an initial loss report screen including, for example, a costestimate for treating the vehicle, for example, based on one or moretreatment codes. The initial loss report screen may also include othertreatment information such as the crash information, the vehicle typeincluding make and model, the treatment complexity level, an estimatedduration for repairing the vehicle, a list of treatment facilitiescapable of treating the vehicle and their respective availabilities,etc. The display may also include options allowing the user to select atreatment facility from the list of treatment facilities, transfer fundsinto the user's personal account, schedule a rental car, etc.

In embodiments where the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 is a thin-client device, the server device 940 mayperform many of the processing functions remotely that may otherwise beperformed by system personnel and/or the mobile computing device 910and/or on-board computing device 914. In such embodiments, the serverdevice 940 may include a number of software applications capable ofreceiving vehicle operating information gathered by the sensors and/oracquiring collision data to be used in determining the extent of damageto the vehicle 908 involved in the crash. For example, the mobilecomputing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 may gatherinformation from its sensors as described herein, but instead of usingthe information locally, the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 may send the information to the server device 940for remote processing. The server device 940 may perform the analysis ofthe gathered crash information to determine the amount of damage to thevehicle 908 as described herein. The server device 940 may thendetermine whether the damaged vehicle can be repaired or scrapped, andwhere the damaged vehicle may be taken for such treatment. The serverdevice 940 may also transmit information associated with the treatmentof the damaged vehicle. For example, the information transmitted by theserver device 940 may be sent to a treatment facility and/or a transportfacility and include a request to transport the damaged vehicle to thetreatment facility, or the server device 940 may transmit theinformation to the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914.

FIGS. 9-12 depict application pages that may be presented on the userinterface 1002 of the mobile computing device 910 as part of the userinterface used to implement the vehicle treatment system 900. WhileFIGS. 9-12 depict pages or screens of information capable of beingpresented on the display 1002 of the mobile computing device 910, it isto be understood that the application pages or screens of informationcould be displayed on the display 1002 of the on-board computing device914 in addition to being displayed on the mobile device 910 or as analternative. In addition, the application pages may also be displayed onthe user interface 963 of the server device 940. The applications orpages may be generated by the mobile computing device 910/914 or sent tothe mobile computing device 910/914 by the server 940 (e.g., as with athin client). The user may launch the application from the mobilecomputing device 910/914 via any suitable manner, such astouch-selecting a start application icon 1104 on the display 1002 of themobile computing device 910/914 or speaking a voice command into themicrophone (not shown) of the mobile computing device 910/914. After theuser launches the application 1032, the application 1032 may begin torun on the mobile computing device 910/914 as described above inconnection to block 202, FIG. 2; or the mobile computing device 910 maycommunicate with the on-board computing device 914 and the clientapplication 1032 may begin to run on the on-board computing device 914.

With reference now to FIG. 9, a monitor screen 1100 of the clientapplication and/or routine may be displayed on the screen of the mobilecomputing device 910/914. The monitor screen 1100 may include a‘Calibrate” tab 1102, a “Start” tab 1104, a “Settings” tab 1106, and a‘Report’ tab 1108. When the user selects the “Calibrate” tab 1102, theclient application may execute a calibration routine. A calibrationscreen (not shown) may be displayed on the screen of the mobilecomputing device 910/914 during execution of the calibration routine,wherein the progress of the calibration routine may be indicated by anillustration showing the approximate status of the calibration routine.If desired, a user may cancel the calibration and/or set the calibrationroutine to run in the “background,” so as not to appear on the screen1100 of the mobile computing device 910/914.

When the user selects the “Start” tab 1104, the client application maybegin to monitor and collect data about vehicle operation. The collecteddata may be stored as described above and/or additional data may bemathematically determined from the collected data about vehicleoperation and also stored. Once started, a vehicle monitor screen 1200shown in FIG. 10 may be displayed on the screen of the mobile computingdevice 910/914. The vehicle monitor screen 1200 may include a “Stop” tab1202. If the “Stop” tab 1202 is selected by the user, the vehicletreatment system 900 will terminate vehicle operation monitoring. Thevehicle treatment system 900 may also be stopped by a voice command ofthe user. Alternatively, the vehicle treatment system 900, e.g.,gathering and analyzing of the vehicle operation and/or collision data,may be ceased by the mobile computing device 910/914 detecting that theengine of the vehicle 908 has stopped.

Referring now to FIG. 11, when the user selects the “Settings” tab 1106shown in FIG. 11, a settings screen 1300 may be displayed on the screenof the mobile computing device 910/914. The settings screen 1300 mayinclude a variety of information that the user or vehicle operator mayenter into the vehicle treatment system 900 via a “soft” keyboard 1306of the user interface of the mobile computing device 910/914. Suchinformation may include the vehicle owner's name and/or contactinformation 1302. Additional information may include the make, model,and year of the vehicle type 1304 of the vehicle 908 that will beutilized with the treatment system 900. The settings screen 1300 mayalso include a variety of parameters that may be entered and adjusted bythe user, such as the mode for turning on the treatment system 900,i.e., manual or automatic, etc. The parameters may be modified and savedby the user or vehicle operator via selection of a “Save” tab 1308 ofthe user interface on the mobile computing device 910/914.

Referring now to FIG. 12, when the user selects the “Report” tab 1108shown in FIG. 12, a report screen 1400 may be displayed on the screen ofthe mobile device 910/914. The report screen 1400 may include a list ofcontacts 1402 to be notified in the event of a crash. The contact list1402 may include the vehicle owner, insurance agent, etc., and may beentered and/or modified by the user via a “soft” keyboard 1406 of a userinterface of the mobile computing device 910. The list of contacts 1402may be saved by the user or vehicle operator via selection of the “Save”tab 1408 of the user interface of the mobile computing device 910.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware, the routines,etc., are tangible units capable of performing certain operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client orserver computer system) or one or more hardware modules of a computersystem (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured bysoftware (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardwaremodule that operates to perform certain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certainoperations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not onlyresiding within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain operations may be distributed among the oneor more processors, not only residing within a single machine, butdeployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, theone or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be locatedin a single geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, theone or more processors or processor-implemented modules may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing, ” “calculating, ” “determining, ”“presenting, ” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still cooperate or interact witheach other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it isobvious that it is meant otherwise.

Still further, for the purposes of illustration only, the figures depictpreferred embodiments of a communication system and method for a mobileplatform. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from thediscussion above that alternative embodiments of the structures andmethods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from theprinciples described herein.

Of course, the applications and benefits of the systems, methods, andtechniques described herein are not limited to only the above examples.Many other applications and benefits are possible by using the systems,methods, and techniques described herein.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘_ _ _’ ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent isreferred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning,that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader,and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implicationor otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element isdefined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recitalof any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim elementbe interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixthparagraph.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for estimating vehicle repair costs, themethod executed in part by one or more processors programmed to performthe method, the method comprising: receiving, by the one or moreprocessors via one or more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involvedin a crash, crash information of the damaged vehicle, the crashinformation including vehicle operating information of the damagedvehicle, the crash information collected by the one or more sensors,including an accelerometer; analyzing, by the one or more processors,the crash information with respective collision data of a vehicle typethat includes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle,the analyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or anacceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicleoperating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data ofthe vehicle type; determining, by the one or more processors, one ormore damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle based on the analyzedcrash information; determining, by the one or more processors, a costestimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damagedvehicle parts; and transmitting, by the one or more processors, anindication of the cost estimate.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining the cost estimate includes: compiling a list of replacementvehicle parts based on the determined one or more damaged vehicle partsof the damaged vehicle; and determining the cost estimate based on thelist of replacement parts.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthe cost estimate includes: determining a type of treatment for eachdamaged vehicle part of the determined one or more damaged vehicleparts.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the cost estimateincludes: determining a treatment complexity level associated withtreating the damaged vehicle based on the received crash information andthe determined one or more damaged vehicle parts.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein the treatment complexity level includes a time duration forcompleting treatment of the damaged vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 4,wherein the treatment complexity level indicates whether the damagedvehicle is a total loss.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:determining, by the one or more processors, based on the treatmentcomplexity level, a vehicle treatment facility capable of treating thedamaged vehicle; and transmitting, by the one or more processors, anindication of the vehicle treatment facility.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving the crash information includes: receiving, from acomputing device coupled to the one or more sensors, the crashinformation, the computing device configured to transmit the crashinformation to the one or more processors automatically in response tothe crash.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein: receiving the crashinformation further includes receiving one or more images of the damagedvehicle; and analyzing the crash information further includes comparingthe one or more images included in the crash information to storedimages included in the respective collision data of the vehicle type.10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the crash informationincludes: receiving an indication of whether emergency responseequipment of the damaged vehicle was deployed due to the crash.
 11. Asystem for estimating vehicle repair costs, the system comprising: acomputing device including one or more processors; and one or morememory devices coupled to the one or more processors of the computingdevice, the one or more memory devices storing executable instructionsthat when executed by the one or more processors of the computing devicecause the system to: receive, via one or more sensors coupled to adamaged vehicle involved in a crash, crash information of the damagedvehicle, the crash information including vehicle operating informationof the damaged vehicle, the crash information collected by the one ormore sensors, including an accelerometer; analyze the crash informationwith respective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or issimilar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzingincluding comparing at least one of a velocity or an accelerationincluded in the vehicle operating information to vehicle operatingcharacteristics indicated by the respective collision data of thevehicle type; determine one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damagedvehicle based on the analyzed crash information; determine a costestimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damagedvehicle parts; and transmit an indication of the cost estimate.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein, to determine the cost estimate, theexecutable instructions cause the system to: compile a list ofreplacement vehicle parts based on the determined one or more damagedvehicle parts of the damaged vehicle; and determine the cost estimatebased on the list of replacement parts.
 13. The system of claim 11,wherein, to determine the cost estimate, the executable instructionscause the system to: determine a type of treatment for each damagedvehicle part of the determined one or more damaged vehicle parts. 14.The system of claim 11, wherein, to determine the cost estimate, theexecutable instructions cause the system to: determine a treatmentcomplexity level associated with treating the damaged vehicle based onthe received crash information and the determined one or more damagedvehicle parts.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the treatmentcomplexity level includes a time duration for completing treatment ofthe damaged vehicle.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the treatmentcomplexity level indicates whether the damaged vehicle is a total loss.17. The system of claim 14, wherein the executable instructions furthercause the system to: determine, based on the treatment complexity level,a vehicle treatment facility capable of treating the damaged vehicle;and transmit an indication of the vehicle treatment facility.
 18. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the computing device is a first computingdevice, and wherein, to receive the crash information, the executableinstructions cause the system to: receive, from a second computingdevice coupled to the one or more sensors, the crash information, thesecond computing device configured to transmit the crash information tothe one or more processors automatically in response to the crash. 19.The system of claim 11, wherein the crash information includes one ormore images of the damaged vehicle, and wherein, to analyze the crashinformation, the executable instructions further cause the system to:analyze the crash information by comparing the one or more imagesincluded in the crash information to stored images included in therespective collision data of the vehicle type.
 20. A tangible,computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by oneor more processors of a computer system cause the computer system to:receive, via one or more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involvedin a crash, crash information of the damaged vehicle, the crashinformation including vehicle operating information of the damagedvehicle, the crash information collected by the one or more sensors,including an accelerometer; analyze the crash information withrespective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or is similarto the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzing includingcomparing at least one of a velocity or an acceleration included in thevehicle operating information to vehicle operating characteristicsindicated by the respective collision data of the vehicle type;determine one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle basedon the analyzed crash information; determine a cost estimate to repairthe damaged vehicle based on the one or more damaged vehicle parts; andtransmit an indication of the cost estimate.